Together Festival: When Music, Arts Collide for One Week
Photo via Together Festival
An eight-day festival is coming to the Boston area next week, incorporating dozens of local museums and venues, and bringing together a seemingly endless list of musical acts and scheduled seminars about the electronic music industry.
The fourth annual “Together Festival,” based in Cambridge, is a “celebration of music, art and technology,” and will feature big name acts like Biz Markie (of “You Got What I Need” fame), film screenings, and in-depth discussions about art and its impact on various musical genres, specifically, electronic dance music, or EDM.
The week-long event, which was originally rooted in Boston, attracts roughly 20,000 people each year, who pick and choose which events they want to attend. “People know us as a festival that is … tasteful and always hits the different artists that are about to explode,” says one of the “Together” organizers, David Day. “[Beyond music], it’s also an art and technology festival, and those are maximized by free panels and seminars that happen throughout the day.”
On the launch night Sunday, May 12, the festival will showcase a multimedia experience that melds visually stimulating art with an eclectic musical experience, called “A New Cosmic Mix,” at the Museum of Science’s Planetarium. “It’s emphasizing the visual collage through the art culture that exists here,” Day says.
Other venues such as the Museum of Fine Arts will also be part of the “Together” showcase, featuring films and hosting discussions on the role of the VJ in the electronic music scene.
In the days that follow, organizers say attendees can expect to learn a bit about industry practices while also exploring what makes certain communities adapt to art, graffiti, and niche scenes more than others. Part of that hands-on approach comes in the form of an open house at The Mmmmaven Project in Central Square, where artists or beginners interested in finding out about the latest tools and programs can try out equipment and get a quick lesson from professionals. “All of these events and communities exist through Boston all year, but this is one time of the year that people with a curiosity can peek their head in and meet these people. Whatever type of music it is … we wanted to bring it all together. We wanted to bring them all out,” says Day.
For a complete list of everything happening at “Together Festival” and ticket information, go to togetherboston.com.
